Improvement in horse hay-forks



pivot, a.

UNITED STATES PATENTN 4Ormes.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE HAY-FORKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent VNo. 47,982, dated May 30,1865.

To all whom it 11mg/ concern.-

Be it known that we, RENssELAER REY- No'Lns and CHAnLEs'YoUNG, both ofStockport, in the county of Columbia` and State of New York, haveinvented a new and Improved Hay-Fork, and we do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which willenable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, iny which- Figure l represents a side elevation of ourinvention when closed and in the position of being hoisted up. Fig. 2 isa similar View of the same when open and ready to take in a fresh load.Fig. 3 is a frontelevation of the same.

Similar letters of i reference indicate like parts.

This invention consists in combining with two hinged tined jaws twolevers or togglearms in such a manner that when said togglearms arestraightened out the jaws are firmly closed, and a load of hay taken upfby them can be hoisted up to any desired height, and by a slight pullon one of the toggle-arms they are thrown out of line, and the jaws opento clamp their load; and, furthermore7 by the action of the toggleleverthe operation of entering the fork in the hay is facilitated.

It consists, further, in placing the ring which takes the hoisting-ropeout of the center of the fork and in such position in relation to thetoggle-arms and to the pivot connecting the two jaws that by the strainon the hoistingrope the opening and the closing of the fork isfacilitated. i

A represents a fork made of ironor any other suitable material, andcomposed of two jaws, B B, which are hinged together by a Each jaw isprovided with two or more tines, b b, and the pivot a, which connectsthe two jaws, is far from being central between the' tines,-` as clearlyshown in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings.

C is a ring secured to the jaw B', and intended to take thehoisting-rope. `This ring is also out of the center on the opposite sideof the pivot c, and by this position of the ring and pivot in relationto each other and to the tines the discharge of the hay is considerablyfacilitated, andthefork drops the load just as l it was taken up,instead of rolling it up, as is the case with most forks. For thisreason our fork is particularly valuable in mowing or stacking where itis desirable to deposit the load just as it was taken up. The two jawsof the fork are also connected by two ar1ns,.D D', which are connectedto each other by a pivot, c, and to the jaws by pivots d cl,'as clearlyshown in the drawings. beyond its.pivot d', and is provided wit-h aloop, e, to receive the line f, which serves to discharge the load. Thearms D D form a toggle-joint, and if the fork is closed the pivot c,which connects said toggle-arms, is within the .pivots d d. In thisposition the end of the fork retains its load, and the weight of theload itself', together with the strain on the hoistingrope, prevents thefork from opening spontaneously. The load rests on' the jaw B, andconsequently has a tendency to throw said jaw in the` direction of thearrow marked near it in Fig. 1, and by this strain on said jaw thefulcrum of the toggle-j oint is pressed in, :and consequently saidtogglejoint is `prevented from releasing the jaws. takes place by thestrain of the hoisting-rope on the jaw B". This strain has a tendency tothrow said jaw in the direction of the arrow marked near it in the samefigure, and the toggle-joint is held tight. By pulling the line is open,as shown in Fig. 2, a slight pressure on the fork, added to the actionof the lever and toggle-joint by pulling the lever, causes the fork tocatch and grasp the hay firmly with f the least possibleeffort, and thisoperation is further facilitated by the peculiar form ofthe tines, whichare curved in such a manner that they will readily enter the hay.

Having `thus'- described Your invention, we claim as new an'd desire tosecure by Letters Patentv l. The toggle-joint. and lever D D', in com-The arm D extends a straight line drawn throughthe centers of arm Dstrikes the back of the jaw B', and the The same action f, however, thefulcrum of the toggle-joint is causing the fork to enter the hay. Ifthefork bination with the hinged jaws B Bof the fork D andjaws B B7substantially as and for 'die A, constructed and operating in the mannerpurpose set forth.

and for the purpose substantially as herein RENSS. REYNOLDS.

shown and described. CHARLES YOUNG.

2. The ring C, When the seme is arranged Witnesses:

on one side of the center of the fork, and op- R. B. REYNOLDS,

erstes in combination with the toggle-arms D G. B. REYNOLDS.

